Broadway 11/12 Seasonal

by emmyanndesign on June 9, 2011

Season design is my favorite challenge, mostly because it’s the one Broadway thing I work on all year that allows me creative freedom. Well. As much creative freedom as one can have when they are trying to make 7 shows look like a complete package, staying true to all 7 brands (not to mention specials) and your own institutional branding. It took me a few years to understand it and get it, but I’ve realized that clean, neat layout is what gets you there.

The first piece is the brochure. A book with information on the shows on the season, specials and all of the information you need if you’re interested in becoming a subscriber.

It better be good. You’re asking people to spend $1000 with you, so if you don’t communicate clean or clear, they aren’t going to be convinced.

That said, subscriptions sell on product. If you have shows people want to see, they will subscribe to your season. Polishing up the product helps, though. Sometimes a lot.

This season presented a few difficulties–the photos are all Original Broadway Cast which I don’t like, particularly when there are well-known names in the pictures. (Like Nathan Lane or Kelsey Grammer.) Billy Elliot needed to be the season highlight, but it wasn’t the show that most would look at as the reason to subscribe. The majority of the shows hadn’t decided exactly what they wanted to do with their artwork on the road. Even BILLY ELLIOT was in the midst of an artwork shift.

Clean, neat lines won the day and we came up with a campaign that covered the city. We put posters in over 30 poster cases in the downtown area alone.

The artwork continues to be used for ads, additional mailings, and variations will continue throughout the year as we continue the series as shows end. We peel off the show that has passed and make 6- 5- 4- and 3-show subscriptions available.

We also need an electronic version for specific purposes: Our district jumbotrom. A buy during the Tony® Awards. Any other opportunities we have to put it out there, we’ll take. Seven shows in 30 seconds is difficult, to say the least. There’s no chance to truly feature any show, and brands start blending. The most you can hope for is grabbing a potential patron’s interest and get them to the website for more information.